Nursing doll



OCt. 23, 1951 W WOOD ET AL 2,572,795

NURSING DOLL Filed July 30, 1949 Oct. 23, 1951 G. w. woon ET Al. 2,5725795 NURSING DOLL Filed July 3o, 1949 2 SHEETS- SHEET 2 I 7;' N l 36 I 40 (l of 'ai A 1717/7972 llor (feo/"ge Willi-bm Wood Gordo /Wcoqydll ,55d W Patented Oct. 23, 1951 rrllvfrrlil!)- STATE-s PATENT oFF-ICE NURSING DOLL` George W; Wood; Gordon McDougall Shaw, and James Alan'S'cott; Magog, Quebec, Canada Avllliativnlulr 30a 1949,. seria1 No. 107,664V

2' (glaring.n (C1. re-14n This invention relates. to.. dolls and morepai-, ticularly to dolls incorporating featuresA adapting them to simula-te, certain naturalfunctions.

While dolls` adaptedI to. receive andH discharge. liquids .are. Well known. in the art,vmost of these. present certain disadvantages in thatfthe. liquid generally fedi and. dischargedsolely by .gravity with no provision made for storage of the liquid. so that the discharge occurs just. as soon as the liquid; passes4 through. the dolls body..r Others have been made soas, to.A operate by. providing some formofla. suction device to drawliquidf-rom a container, butagainno attempt is made to re. tain thel liquidwithin the. body.

The present invention aims, to provide., an im.- provedconstruction of a-doll of thisnaturathat can receive, store,` and, discharge liquid as re.- quired',4 each function being under the of the person handling the doll;

Accordingly. the present invention comprises a doll having4 mechanical meanswithin the head and body adapting the doll toreceive liquid' from the nipple .of a nursing bottle, store the liquid' within. the. body, and discharge the liqui'dwhen desired.

More specifically, a preferred construction of' a doll according to the invention comprises` a hollow doll body including a hollow head adapted to house the mechanical means adapted to perform these various functions.

TheY body and head may be of any preferred form or of any desired material' with the head being preferably removable from the body so as to facilitate installation of the Various working parts.

The mechanical meansv activating the doll are preferablyy constructed as a complete unit which can be assembled outside of the bodyand inserted within the body and head as a unit. This is accomplished by providing a main supporting frame adapted for attachment within the body of' the dolland having the various elements mountedon this frame.

The working elements of therdoll consist essen tially of a liquid receiving unit including a movable portion adapted to simulate the movements of' the tongue, a liquid storage sac or bladder that includes a one-way valve inlet means so as to prevent return of the liquid to the receiving unit and a controlled' outlet means so that the contents of the sac or bladder may be discharged as required. An eye moving and blinking device is also mounted on the main frame above the liquid receiving unit and is operatively connected to an actuating lever which also controls the movement of the depressing or'tongue portion.

When installed Within the body of the dell the controlY 2. liquidreceiving unit and, eye moving unit ispositioned within the head, the eyes fitting into the eyesockets, ofthe dgoll` and the liquid'` receiving unitgbeing positioned behind' a, mouth opening; Thei actuating'leveris" positioned within the doll body andis preferably provided with a disc-like end that is positioned so as to rest against the inner surface, of the abdomen of the dollv which is preferably constructed of a flexible material. With this arrangement pressure on the abdomen of the doll act'uates the lever which in turn actuates thev movable depressor or tongue of the liquid receivingl unit.

In operation, liquid issupplied from a nursing bottle, the nipple of which is inserted in the mout-h opening ofthe doll so as to extend within the liquid receiving unit. On actuation of the depressor portion of' this unit as` caused by the flexing of' the abdomen portion ofthe doll, liquid flows from they bottle into the liquid receivingunit when it is'conveyed by a conduitr to the'storage sac positioned within the body off the doll; Preferably, the nursingbottle employed includes a valved' nipplevsoasv to minimize leakage when thebottle iswithdrawn or inserted' in the liquid receivingportion ofthe dol-l.

The eye moving portion' of'ftheunitis connected' bya ratchetrand"` cam devicetouthe'main actuating lever-so'thatthe d'ollis adapted toy simulate aslow blinking of the eyesat intervals during the liquidY receiving operation.

The outlet means of the' storage sac is:l con,-L nected. toftheexteriorof the dolls body by a con duit, and-'a check va-lve controlled by a lever extending exteriorly of the body is connectedin theconduit sof that. the con-tentsr of the sac may be discharged. as. required- With the present arrangement, the doll is adapted te receive liquidfrom a nursing bottle,. slowly; andina lifelike manner; due to. the move-` mentsof thel depressor or tongue portion, while; the: eyes, blink in a manner simulating. the, ac:- tions of a human infant.

Having. thusA generally described the natureA of the inyentio n particular reference Will be made to the accompanying drawing, and in which:

Figure- 1 is; a longitudinal section through a doll constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a view in front elevation of the interna-lmech-anism of the doll as shown in Figure 1' with the body of the doll indicated in:V dotted lines.

Figure4v 31 isy anv enlarged` detail' view inl perspecetive elevation to illustrate the eye moving mech-g anism of' the apparatus.

Figureltis: alongitudinal sectionl of a dollcorle` responding to Figure 1 with the mechanism partially in section illustrating the operation of the liquid receiving unit.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a preferred form of nipple employed in combination with the apparatus of the invention.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of a doll corresponding to Figure 4 illustrating the liquid receiving unit and eye moving mechanism in operation.

Figure '7 is a vertical section of a portion of the construction shown in Figure 1 to illustrate the construction and relative position of the liquid receiving chamber in more detail.

With particular reference to the drawings illustrating a preferred construction of the device, the doll comprises a body |0, a head I2, and having suitably attached arms and legs (not illustrated).

The body l0 and head I2 are hollow, and preferably made of a hard composition with the exception of the portion I4 forming the front of the abdomen which is of a flexible material, for example, rubber, or other resilient materials. As shown in Figures l, 4, and 6, the mechanism of the doll is positioned within the interior of the body I0 and the head I2, the head I2 being preferably removable from the body I0 so as to facilitate insertion of the working elements.

. The operating mechanism of the doll is mounted on a main supporting frame 20 that extends the length of the body I0 into the head I2. The liquid receiving portion of the apparatus includes a boxlike chamber 30 having an open end 3| positioned within the head I2 of the doll against the mouth opening 35. The chamber 30 is mounted on the upperend of the frame 20 and a lever member 32 that includes a depressor por-V tion 34 is pivotally mounted to the frame 20 so that the portion 34 is adapted to move up and down in the open end 3| of the chamber 30. The lever member 32 also includes an extended portion 36 that extends rearwardly of the frame 20 and an offset lever portion 38 that is engaged by a main actuating lever 40.

' The main actuating lever 40 is pivotally mounted intermediate its length to the supporting frame 20, the upper end 4| being adapted to engage the lever portion 38 of the member 32 with the lower end 43 provided with a pressure disc 44 that is adapted to rest against the flexible insert I4 in the front portion of the dolls body |0.`

A coil spring 48 is connected between the lever member 32 and the frame 20 so as to normally urge the depressor portion 34 downwards and away from the upper portion of the chamber end 3|, the downward motion being transmitted to the main lever 40 through the lever portion 38 exible body portion I 4.

The chamber 30 is provided with an outlet 5l which is connected by a conduit 52 to a storage sac or bladder 54 secured to an extended portion 2| of the frame 20. A one-way valve 56 is connected in the conduit 52 adjacent the sac 54 so that` liquid flowing from the chamber 30 cannot flow` back through the conduit 52 if the doll is placed in a horizontal or upside-down position.

An outlet valve 58 is connected to the lower portion of the storage sac 54 and a conduit connects the valve 58 to an opening 60 inthe lower portion of the body I0. A control lever 62 extends Vfrom the valve 58 to the exterior ofthe 4 body I0 so that fluid may be discharged from the sac 54 as required.

The eye moving portion of the apparatus is mounted on the top of the liquid receiving chamber 30 and comprises a support I0 which rotatably supports a counterbalanced shaft 'I2 on which are mounted aV pair of dolls eyeslI4. The shaft 'I2 is positioned relative to the eye openings 13 in the dolls head I2 so that the eyes are open when the doll is in the upright position, this position being determined by the engagement of a counterbalanced arm 18 projecting from the shaft 'I2 with a stop 80 extending from the support 10.

A cam 82 is mounted on a shaft 84 and is adapted to contact the counterbalance 'I8 at intervals so as to cause the eyes 14 to move up and down. The cam 82 is driven by a ratchet wheel 88 also mounted on the shaft 84, the shaft 84 being mounted between supports 90 extending from the upper surface of the chamber 30. A ratchet dog 92 is pivotally mounted on the extension 36 of the lever member 32 so that the upward movement of the lever 32 as caused by the pressing of the main lever 40 engages the dog 92 with the teeth of the ratchet Wheel 88 and causes it to rotate.

A spring 96 is connected between the chamber 30 and the dog 92 so as to maintain the dog in engagement and a spring 88 engages the teeth of the wheel 88 so as to prevent reverse rotation. The cam 82 and the teeth of the ratchet wheel 88 are preferably proportionate so that a camming action `occurs about every five strokes of the main lever 40. This has been found to produce an eye action that closely simulates the actions of a human infant while drinking from a nursing bottle.

For most eicient operation the nursing bottle used to supply liquid to the doll is preferably equipped with a special nipple |00 that includes a one-way check valve |02 as is sli-own in Figure 5. With this arrangement, the flow of liquid from the bottle to the nipple is shut oif through the check valve |02 when the nipple end |06 is squeezed through the'action of the lever depressor member 34, and the liquid contained in the nipple end |06 is expelled into the chamber 30 (see Figure 6).

On release of the nipple end |06, the check valve |02 is also released and allows liquid to flow from the bottle into the nipple.

While it is understood that other forms of bottles and nipples might be employed it has been found that the type employing the check valve nipple is most eiiicient and eliminates undue leakage and spilling of the liquid when the nipple is withdrawn or inserted in the mouth opening of the doll.

We claim:

1. In combination with a doll having a hollow body and a hollow head connected to said body, said head including a mouth opening and said body including a discharge opening in the lower portion thereof; a liquid receiving apparatus comprising, an elongated supporting frame mounted within said hollow body and extending from adjacent the lower portion of said body into said head, a hollow member having top, side, and bottom walls constituting a liquid receiving chamber mounted on the upper end of said supporting frame within said doll head, said liquid receiving chamber having a laterally open end disposed adjacent the mouth opening of said doll head, the other end of said chamber being blockedV by a partition having therein a relatively small discharge opening, a first lever member pivotally mounted on said supporting frame beneath and extending the length of said liquid receiving chamber, an extension of said first lever member projecting within said chamber body and being adapted for up and down movement between said side Walls, a second lever member pivotally mounted on said supporting frame beneath said first lever member and being operatively connected thereto, said second lever member extending from adjacent said doll head to a pivotal connection with a flexible member inset in said doll body, a reservoir adapted to receive liquid from said liquid receiving chamber mounted on the lower end of said supporting frame and including a controlled outlet means connected to said doll body discharge opening, conduit means between said liquid receiving chamber discharge opening and said reservoir, and control means for said reservoir outlet disposed exteriorly of said doll body.

2. A combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein said doll head includes eye openings, a pair of artificial eyes mounted for pivotal movement on the top of said liquid receiving chamber in alignment with said eye openings and means operatively connecting said eyes to said rst named lever member whereby fluctuation of said lever is adapted to cause intermittent movement of said eyes.

GEORGE W. WOOD. GORDON MCDOUGALL SHAW. JAMES ALAN SCOTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 932,962 Clark Aug. 31, 1909 1,978,337 Bowers Oct. 23, 1934 

